Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship - autonomous ...

artificial hells
Dmitri Gutov, The Last Supper, 1996
with Troncy’s shows, there were special performances during the private
view; however, during the opening, relations between the artists grew
openly antagonistic. Dominating the centre of the exhibition hall was a
large installation by Chinese artist Wenda Gu, who had collected hair from
Russia and Sweden and used it to create a large, tunnel- like structure; in the
middle of this was suspended a rocket, on loan from the Swedish army.
According to Gu, the installation was meant to symbolize the collaboration
between East and West. Brener, however, objected to the installation’s
dominant position (and perhaps also to its heavy- handed symbolism).
After his ninety- minute drum performance The Language of Emotion,
Brener began to destroy Wenda Gu’s installation by tearing down the
tunnel of hair – arguing that it received far more fl oor space than any other
work, and symbolised the failure of the exhibition project as a whole. After
this, Oleg Kulik, who was naked and chained to a kennel, executing one of
his well- known dog performances, also became increasingly hostile. Soft
nibbles turned into bites and assaults. Trying to push Kulik back inside his
kennel, Jan Åman kicked the artist in the face, which provoked the artist to
become yet more violent; the police were called in and Kulik was arrested,
charged and later released with a fi ne.
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